.\"	$OpenBSD: colrm.1,v 1.8 2011/12/28 22:27:18 schwarze Exp $
.\"	$NetBSD: colrm.1,v 1.3 1995/03/26 09:04:01 glass Exp $
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.\"     @(#)colrm.1	8.1 (Berkeley) 6/6/93
.\"
.Dd $Mdocdate: December 28 2011 $
.Dt COLRM 1
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm colrm
.Nd remove columns from a file
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm colrm
.Op Ar start Op Ar stop
.Sh DESCRIPTION
.Nm
removes selected columns from the lines of a file.
A column is defined as a single character in a line.
Input is read from the standard input.
Output is written to the standard output.
.Pp
If only the
.Ar start
column is specified, columns numbered less than the
.Ar start
column will be written.
If both
.Ar start
and
.Ar stop
columns are specified, columns numbered less than the
.Ar start
column
or greater than the
.Ar stop
column will be written.
Column numbering starts with one, not zero.
.Pp
Tab characters increment the column count to the next multiple of eight.
Backspace characters decrement the column count by one.
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr awk 1 ,
.Xr column 1 ,
.Xr cut 1 ,
.Xr paste 1
.Sh HISTORY
The
.Nm
utility first appeared in
.Bx 1 .
.Sh AUTHORS
.An Jeff Schriebman
wrote the original version of
.Nm
in November 1974.
